Workhorse Group Plans Electric Pickup

Dec 1, 2016

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Workhorse Group Plans Electric Pickup

Posted by Mark Williams | November 30, 2016

If the Workhorse Group — an Ohio-based battery-electric powertrain and drone developer — has its way, there will be a new half-ton pickup truck with an electric-driven powertrain for sale in less than two years.

The Workhorse Group already has several electric delivery vehicles used across the country with the same powertrain technology it plans to use for the Workhorse W-15, the company's name for the pickup that will target medium and large businesses. Duke Energy in North Carolina has already signed a deal to order at least 500 of the trucks.

The W-15 will be similar in strategy to VIA Motors' hybrid pickups that use Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra crew-cab platforms into which VIA installs its own proprietary V-6 gas generator to charge the battery packs that allow the pickups to run on electric power via two electric motors.

According to Workhorse, the plug-in hybrid electric crew-cab pickup will have four-wheel drive, offer a gross vehicle weight rating of 7,200 pounds, a payload more than 2,000 pounds and deliver a driving range of more than 300 miles per tank with an 80-mile all-electric range. Workhorse hopes to sell this five-passenger pickup for around $50,000. Of course, hitting that price will be difficult when factoring in manufacturing and production costs — unless the company finds a deep-pockets partner with a plant filled with robotic machinery.